


Trials of the Green Ninja

by Koberoo



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Stressful, i thot fuck it.. im writing it since my gf is studying and im bored, ougougouhh, this is based off of a dream i had
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:55:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21691831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koberoo/pseuds/Koberoo
Summary: Lloyd looks grown up but he's still just a kid. How does training to be the green ninja affect him? How much can a person take? : (Lloyd needs a break.
Kudos: 62





	Trials of the Green Ninja

It was a training day. Lloyd was still training to be the green ninja, to be as strong as he could be to fight the overlord. He himself confided that as honorable a position as it is, he’s always in doubt that he can do it. Even with the tomorrow-tea, he was still just a boy. 

The training was on stealth and managing close quarters combat without attracting other combatants’ attention. They were set up in a warehouse; large storage containers were arranged in rows to act as barriers and hiding places (both for Lloyd and the other ninja). The first couple of times Lloyd had someone on his “team” for the practice mission, but now he was on his own against all 5 of the others. It was the third time they’d run this exercise ever, and the fifth time that day. Lloyd could feel himself losing focus, losing precision. He was leaning more and more on his elemental abilities rather than his skill in combat. 

Jay and Cole could be heard calling out patrol feedback. Lloyd hadn’t been spotted yet but Cole would be rounding the container soon. There were 6 rows of containers and then the item that Lloyd needed to retrieve was in a watchtower guarded by Zane just above the exit. There was a catwalk around the perimeter of the warehouse, but there was no cover. Anyone would be able to spot him. 

He pressed his back to the corner unit, feeling the cold steel through his suit. He was breathing heavily and he was completely exhausted. He looked to the other end of the row, eyes straining in the low light to see Cole’s shadow approaching. 

It was then that he heard footsteps not 5 feet away rounding the corner he was hiding behind.

“That’s not the patrol pattern!” He hissed into his earpiece. 

“You have to be prepared for unexpected circumstances.” Wu’s clear voice replied. “You have to make a split second decision that could mean success or failure for you.” 

Lloyd’s heart was hammering so loud he was sure that he could be spotted by it alone. His head whipped back and forth in the moments before he was discovered. He could run back towards the entrance and try to outrun them? Or he could surprise Jay before he turned the corner; he still hadn’t been seen. Or… 

Just as Jay’s person became visible from behind the unit, Lloyd sprang up and clambered onto the top of the storage container. He balanced himself, staying low to the surface, then he crawled along the top and hopped down the other side before Zane saw him. He hadn’t been seen!  _ Okay, now’s not the time to get cocky.  _ He looked down both ends of the new row: no one to be seen. He heard Jay and Cole having a mock conversation about the facility.  _ They’ll probably be on that side of the container for another minute.  _ He could barely see the top of the watchtower over the second container.  _ I still don’t know where Kai and Nya are. I have to get a visual on them. _

Lloyd peered around the second unit and saw Kai walking away. He seemed to be patrolling on the long side of the warehouse, looking in between each row of containers. Lloyd hurried down to the other end of the row and looked around the corner. Nya was standing near the ladder that lead to the watchtower. She could see down the other length of the warehouse and also the far wall where the exit door was.  _ I’ll probably have better luck trying to avoid Kai, he seems to have less visibility.  _ He moved back to the other end and checked on Kai. He was almost at the furthest point away, he was signing something to Nya. Lloyd only had a second to get to the next row. He slipped into the next row fairly easily. Now the trouble would be advancing now that he was in Kai’s patrol path. 

He could hop over the container again, but he was closer to the watchtower now so avoiding Zane would be nearly impossible. He didn’t have enough time to observe Zane’s behavior either. He may just have to disarm Kai. Just as he was preparing his stance and focusing on Kai’s footfalls, he caught movement from the other end of the row. Jay was patrolling back down the other end! They locked eyes. 

“Hey!” 

Lloyd ran towards Jay. He threw a punch at Jay’s torso which was dodged by Jay side-stepping. Lloyd blocked a kick and then grabbed Jay by the shoulders and kneed him in the chest twice. Lloyd chopped him in the neck and kicked his left leg so he crumbled to the floor. He seemed sufficiently disarmed. 

Blood was rushing in Lloyd’s ears and his hands were shaking violently. He was about to turn around to sneak the other way around when he felt two hands grab his right arm. He whipped his head around and though the knew it was Kai, he couldn’t see him through the panic-induced static. Before he could even react, Kai was twisting Lloyd’s arm backwards painfully. He gasped and tried to grab Kai with his free left arm. With nothing to grab onto, he couldn’t stop himself from flipping forward when Kai kicked his legs out from underneath him. He fell hard on his knee and his cheek. The impact rattled his brain. He felt himself being picked up and thrown into the side of the metal container. He hit his head again and the sound of the clang echoed painfully in his head. He grabbed his head and squeezed his eyes shut. 

“You have to keep fighting Lloyd! A guard isn’t going to let you catch your breath!” Lloyd opened his eyes just in time to block a punch to the face, but not present enough in mind to block a punch to the stomach. He doubled over and coughed, hoping he wouldn’t throw up. 

“Come on Lloyd!” Kai grabbed him by the front of his suit and pushed him to the ground. “Get up! Ninja never quit!” 

“Kai stop!” Cole was at the end of the row. “He’s had enough.” 

Lloyd rolled onto his side and heaved a few more coughs. He failed again. He’d tried so hard and he’d still failed. He felt the frustration and the pain building up and he bit back tears. He propped himself onto his elbow but pain shot through his skull. When he looked up again he saw Kai and Cole arguing. Cole shoved Kai. 

“What do you think you’re doing?! We’re supposed to be training him, not beating him up!” 

“Isn’t this part of the training?! Do you think and assailant is going to go easy on him?!” 

“Of course not, but that wasn’t the point of this exercise!”

“Yes it is! He’s practicing CQC and stealth, and here he failed on stealth he had to make up for in CQC!”

“We’ve been at this for hours! He’s obviously exhausted-”

“He’s going to be exhausted on missions like this! Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of ideal circumstances!” 

“You went too far!” Cole raised his voice. Kai stopped arguing and looked over at Lloyd, who could no longer hold back his tears. He was deliberately avoiding eye contact with both of them. He let the tears fall and pretended they weren’t there. 

“I… Lloyd, I’m sorry.” Kai started. Lloyd shook his head and pulled in a shaky breath. He couldn’t seem to get a hold of his voice. 

“It’s fine.” His voice cracked immediately. “It’s just part of the training, I know.” He wasn’t looking at them but he could tell a rapid exchange happened between them, an exchange that ended and Cole punching Kai in the arm. 

“Kai, go take a walk, we’re taking a break.” 

“Who put you in charge?”

“Just do it! Okay?” Cole dismissed Kai with a hand wave and a vaguely threatening expression. Kai walked towards the exit door. Cole offered a hand to Lloyd who took it and righted himself on his feet. Tears were still falling, though now he acknowledged it by trying to quickly wipe them away. He shifted, thinking that since they were taking a break he could go somewhere quiet to calm down, but before he could walk away he was being pulled into an embrace. Cole held Lloyd in a firm hug, rubbing a hand up and down his back. He felt comforted for a moment, and then he started crying harder. 

“I know it’s hard, and we make it hard on you. You don’t look like a child so it’s easy to forget how young you are. Sometimes I really do wish one of us had been the green ninja, just so you wouldn’t have to go through all of this.” Lloyd was barely listening, he couldn’t hear much of the sound of his muffled crying. He gripped the back of Cole’s shirt and squeezed him tight. “If it ever gets to be too much, you come to me and we’ll do some different training for a bit, alright?” He nodded in response, not bothering to vocalize his affirmation. 

“Okay, let’s go take a break.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of a dream I had! Except I was beating the shit out of Lloyd instead of Kai so... like idk what all that means.


End file.
